“I’m guessing he hasn’t gotten bored of following his lover.”
“Blech.” Anders shudders. “Our children are such boner killers.”
“Yes, yes. Now, come on. Help me clean up this mess youmade of me, and we’ll track both of them. They won’t even know we’re there.”
“And then I can fist you?” he asks, hopeful as a little child wanting ice cream.
“Fine. But I must insist on douching in private.” Omar holds up a finger. “I don’t want to hear about it. You are a menace with that attachment.”
Anders lets out a disappointed sigh. “Fine.”
“Also, do not tell Rami we know he stayed at Valentine’s place. Let him come to us in his own time.”
“Are we surewe’reokay with this?”
“I am,” Omar says after a fashion. “Truett is a good man. And if we don’t let on that we know about them, we can continue to terrorize him for a little longer.”
Anders leans in and kisses Omar hard. “Damn, I love you so much.”
23
RAMI
Here’s the thing:once I put my mind to something, I’m stubborn as fuck. Both Truett and my dads say I can’t stalk? Game on.
True says my car is obvious? Fine. The benefit of being a trust-fund baby is that if I need a car, I can just buy a car. I checked on used cars on the local resale app and found an old ’32 truck, one of the early fast-charge EVs that still had some get up and go before the new regulations fucked with everything.
It’s a faded beige with a few dings, but it’s almost as fast as my car, and that’s saying something. Also, the benefit of living in the penthouse is that drone deliveries are dead simple. Brown contacts? Check. Vintage Carhartt gear? Double check.
“You should maybe wait to leave the condo before putting on your stalking gear,” Sy says, looking me up and down.
“What are you even doing here? This isn’t your place,” I joke as I scruff Cupcake’s ears.
Sy drops his chin, and…shit.
“That was a joke, Sy. This is your place. You do belong here.” I gesture down at myself. “I’m just trying really hard here. Itdidn’t occur to me that leaving here in my disguise doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
“Always leave your disguise in the car, change halfway there, and take a route that doesn’t always make sense. And don’t forget to add in at least a few extra right and left turns.”
I take out my phone and leave a voice note for myself. Sy hides his amused grin behind his inked hand.Dick.
Just then, Oakley comes in from the back hallway, wearing nothing but a towel. Unless you count all the body hair.
“Mind if I steal some shampoo from your bathroom, Rahm?” he says, bending down to love on Cupcake. “I forgot to pick some up.”
“Sure, go after it.”
Oak turns to leave, then rocks back, his brow raised. “Why are your eyes brown?”
“I was just trying something out.”
“It’s weird how much different you look. Your eyes are always the first thing people notice about you.”
“Not my sparkling personality?”
“That too, cousin. Thanks for the shampoo,” he says, making his way back to his room.
Once he’s out of earshot, I turn back to Sy. “Thanks for the help. One of these days I’m going to be very, very good at this.”
